Locking assembly for securing a door for a cage, especially a bird cage and, alternatively, for porting said door in an open position

Abstract

A locking assembly for securing a cage door, such as a bird cage door, wherein the locking assembly includes a substantially M-shaped wire support, which may be made of a resilient material, such as a plastic or a metal, having two bottom ends which are each attached to a pivot support of the cage door. The opposite end of the M-shaped wire locking device has two foot-shaped locking feet, which may be engaged under two locking slots, or loops, provided in the bird cage adjacent to the cage door. The locking device further includes a pair of finger grips which, when squeezed together by a user, cause inward displacement of the locking feet, such that they are removed, or displaced from, the locking slots or loops of the cage. In this “squeezed” position, the door of the bird cage can be pivoted to an “open” position for allowing entry into the cage. When it is desirable to re-lock the cage, the cage door is readily pivoted back toward the “closed” position, after which the finger grips are then released by the user for allowing the locking feet to re-enter the locking slots or loops, for locking the cage door in place. In an alternative embodiment, the M-shaped wire support is replaced by a scissors-like wire support, which operates similarly, but causes an outward displacement of the locking feet when squeezed at its base portion.

What is claimed is:  
     
       1. A locking assembly for locking and unlocking a door of a bird or pet cage, said locking assembly in combination with said cage comprising: 
       a resilient wire support being pivotally-attached at two points at a first end of said resilient wire support to an outer side of a door of a cage, said resilient wire support having, at a second end distal from said first end, two substantially foot-shaped members said resilient wire support being substantially M-shaped with a generally U-shaped middle leg defining a pair of spaced-apart arms for squeezing said resilient wire support for causing said inward displacement of said two substantially foot-shaped members; and,  
       two locking slots being provided for the cage adjacent the door of the cage, each of said two locking slots being capable of receiving a respective member of said two substantially foot-shaped members of said resilient wire support, so that when said resilient wire support is gripped and squeezed together via said U-shaped middle leg thereof, thereby causing an inward displacement of said two substantially foot-shaped members, said two substantially foot-shaped members are each able to be placed within a respective one of said two locking slots for said cage and then released, or removed from a respective one of said two locking slots provided for said cage, to either lock, or unlock, respectively, the door of said cage.  
     
     
       2. The locking assembly according to claim  1 , wherein said resilient wire support includes a pair of raised finger grips, each of which is provided on one of said spaced apart arms of said U-shaped middle leg. 
     
     
       3. The locking assembly according to claim  1 , wherein said resilient wire support is made of a resilient plastic. 
     
     
       4. The locking assembly according to claim  1 , wherein said resilient wire support is made of a resilient metal. 
     
     
       5. The locking assembly according to claim  1 , wherein said two locking slots for said cage are integral parts of said cage. 
     
     
       6. The locking assembly according to claim  1 , wherein said two locking slots for said cage are removably attached to said cage. 
     
     
       7. The locking assembly according to claim  1 , further comprising means for supporting said cage door in an open position. 
     
     
       8. A locking assembly for locking and unlocking a door of a bird or pet cage, said locking assembly in combination with said cage comprising: 
       a resilient wire support being pivotally-attached at two points at a first end of said resilient wire support to an outer side of a door of a cage, said resilient wire support having, at a second end distal from said first end, two substantially foot-shaped members, said resilient wire support being in a scissor-like arrangement and comprising a generally U-shaped base having a pair of arms with upper end portions which overlap in a scissor-like manner, said upper end portions having free ends to each of which one of said foot-shaped members is attached; and  
       two locking slots being provided for the cage adjacent the door of the cage, each of said two locking slots being capable of receiving a respective member of said two substantially foot-shaped members of said resilient wire support, so that when said resilient wire support is gripped and squeezed together thereby causing an outward displacement of said two substantially foot-shaped members, said two substantially foot-shaped members are able to be placed within respective said two locking slots for said cage and then released, or removed from respective said two locking slots provided for said cage, to either lock, or unlock, respectively, the door of said cage.  
     
     
       9. The locking assembly according to claim  8 , wherein said resilient wire support include finger grips for squeezing said resilient wire support for causing said outward displacement of said two substantially foot-shaped members. 
     
     
       10. The locking assembly according to claim  8 , wherein said resilient wire support is made of a resilient plastic. 
     
     
       11. The locking assembly according to claim  8 , wherein said resilient wire support is made of a resilient metal. 
     
     
       12. The locking assembly according to claim  8 , wherein said two locking slots for said cage are integral parts of said cage. 
     
     
       13. The locking assembly according to claim  8 , wherein said two locking slots for said cage are removably attached to said cage. 
     
     
       14. The locking assembly according to claim  8 , further comprising means for supporting said cage door in an open position.